UIU Alumni Connect

A modern alumni-student networking platform for university communities where alumni can post jobs, mentor students, answer questions, and provide referrals.

Stack

• Frontend: Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, ShadCN-style components, Zustand-ready structure, TanStack Query-ready structure.
• Backend: Express.js, TypeScript, REST routes, Zod validation, JWT/RBAC middleware.
• Database: Supabase PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM.
• Realtime-ready: Supabase Realtime for notifications, chat, Q&A updates, and job alerts.

Project Structure

apps/
  web/      Next.js application
  api/      Express API
prisma/     PostgreSQL schema
docs/       Architecture and API notes

Getting Started

1. Install dependencies:

npm install

2. Copy environment variables:

cp .env.example .env

For Supabase, set both DATABASE_URL and DIRECT_URL to the project pooler URL with the real database password:

postgresql://postgres.ftsepzfndwsjhlbfvbfr:YOUR_DATABASE_PASSWORD@aws-1-ap-northeast-2.pooler.supabase.com:5432/postgres

3. Generate Prisma client:

npm run prisma:generate

4. Push the schema to the configured database:

npm run prisma:migrate -- --name init

5. Run the web app:

npm run dev:web

6. Run the API:

npm run dev:api

Current Status

This first implementation creates the production-oriented foundation:

• Responsive landing page.
• Login, register, and password reset screens.
• Student dashboard.
• Alumni dashboard.
• Job board.
• Q&A community.
• Alumni directory.
• Profile page.
• Mentorship page.
• Admin dashboard.
• Express API route skeleton with validation and RBAC.
• Prisma schema covering the core product model.

Next work should connect Supabase Auth, implement Prisma services, and add real data fetching with TanStack Query.

Render Hosting

The repo includes render.yaml for deploying the Express API and Next.js frontend together in one Render web service.

See docs/render-deployment.md for the required environment variables and health checks.

Authentication uses Firebase Google sign-in only. The backend accepts only verified Google accounts whose email ends in .uiu.ac.bd, such as name@bscse.uiu.ac.bd. Add Firebase Admin service-account values to Render as FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID, FIREBASE_CLIENT_EMAIL, and FIREBASE_PRIVATE_KEY.